Mar 19 Time to take some stock

Health care reform seems on its way to passage, but absolutely nothing can be taken for granted. Every last one of us need to continue calling our members of Congress and asking them to pass health reform until it is a done deal. Organizing for America has a great effort going - please join them.

But now that reform is within grasp, I think it's time to take stock of who on the self-proclaimed progressive side are supporting reform, and who is trying to kill it. There is absolutely no doubt about where liberals and progressives stand on this reform - we are strongly and firmly for it, with 90% support. So what progressive organizations are standing with liberals and helping us pass this bill, and which, if any, is actively standing against us?Progressive Organizations by and large support health reform (in current form):

MoveOn.org Political action, the largest progressive online community in this country, is not only supporting reform, they are putting weight behind it by having their members pledge money to fund primary challenges against Democrats who vote against reform.

NAACPexposes the naked reality that people of color and the economically disadvantaged will bear the worsts costs if health reform fails

AFL-CIOsays after 60 years, it's time to vote 'yes' to health care reform.

SEIU and Change to Win labor coalition join in a final push for health reform (SEIU statement, Change to Win statement)

Center for American Progress Action Fundexplains why this comprehensive reform is essential to bring costs under control.

I am sure I am missing many prominent progressive organizations and voices. The point of this list is not to provide an exhaustive list of progressive supporters. The point, rather, is to contrast the active opposition from one group that claims to be progressive and stands alone.

Fire Dog Lake. Jane Hamsher, her blog and her FDL Action PAC is the only prominent self-proclaimed progressive group opposed to health reform. I'm not sure if their goal is to represent the 10% of self-described liberals who oppose the bill. They have a "war room" concentrated entirely on trying to kill the bill - with bold-faced scorched earth policy:

Suddenly the abortion language is a problem. FDL did not oppose the original House bill, which contained even more restrictive abortion language.

Disingenuously, they want to hold progressive members of Congress to a pledge of voting against any bill without a robust (Medicare-rate based) public option. But once again, that somehow they have completely forgotten the word 'robust' and was not at all mad at House members for voting for the original House bill, which did not include a robust public option (it included a negotiated-rate public option) instead.

So basically, firebagger Jane Hamsher and her crew at FDL wants to kill this bill because a weak public option failed to be included in the final legislation. Never mind the tremendous amount of progress made by the current legislation - firebaggers want their pony. All of us would have liked a public option - but firebaggers stand alone in their hatred of the President, and their attempt to kill health reform.